Today we’d like to introduce you to Antoinette Turner.
Hi Antoinette, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was inspired to make Fresh Lil Pitz by my 3.5 yr old son Kolby. He had smelly armpits from the age of two! I was listening to the radio and Nephew Tommy pranked a mom by calling her from her child’s daycare saying her baby was “musty” and that he was gonna put deodorant on him. I thought this was not only hilarious but absurd! Until it happened to me. I picked 2-year-old Kolby up from daycare and boy was he musty! I was shocked because he gets a bath every night. So I went online and could not find a product safe enough for my little one, so I decided to make my own. Kolby has been using Fresh Lil Pitz for almost 2 years now with no skin irritation and no musty armpits.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Due to the fact that my business is new, female and minority owned, my struggles obtaining business credit and funding to market and scale my business, are my biggest challenges. As of now, all funding comes from my full time job. I will say thanks to Houston Community College Entrepreneurial Initiatives and Women Wednesday’s also HCC, have helped me tremendously with knowledge base of entrepreneurship and leadership skills.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’ve always worked in the medical field in some capacity. I was a CNA for 8 years until I decided to earn an AAS Degree in Radiologic Technology. (X-ray). My current position is a Patient Access Rep II at St. Luke’s Sugarland Labor and Delivery Unit. It wasn’t until the pandemic that I tapped into my artistic and creative side and realized how much joy it brought me making products that smell great, solve issues and have therapeutic benefits.
How do you define success?
To me, success is when you’ve reached a point in your life where you have the ability to help change people’s lives for the better. That I am able to inspire someone to become a better version of themselves.
Contact Info:
- Email: qbamllc@qbamcreations.com
- Website: https://www.freshlilpitz.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fresh.lil.pitz
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FRESHLILPITZ/
Image Credits:
Carl Turner
Antoinette Turner
